Contingency planning

Got an e-mail asking "What if Bush wins?"

I replied that I will be spending the next several days working very hard to make sure that is only a hypothetical question — but it does require some thought. After all, one of the reasons that this president does not deserve a second term is his failure/refusal to plan for contingencies other than his hoped for best-case scenarios.

There would be a kind of justice or karmic aptness to leaving Bush in office and forcing him to deal with some of the consequences of the messes he has made. If my primary motivation were the irrational, knee-jerk Bush hatred that supposedly motivates his opponents, then I would want to see him sentenced to another four years and let him suffer the consequences. But the country would suffer more than he would — and the country, we the people and our future, are my primary concern. We cannot afford four more years of this president — much that is good about America cannot survive four more years of this president. (As William Gibson recently wrote, "This is an election in which to vote for the greater likelihood of there being more elections in the future.")

But what of the question? What if Bush wins (or, you know, gets reappointed)?

I will take comfort and inspiration from "the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives," as recounted in Jeremiah chapter 29:

Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. … Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper. …

Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them," declares the Lord. … "For I know the plans I have for you … plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Dig in and plan for the long-term. Plant gardens. Plant trees. Pray for the peace of the city. Increase in number.

And work like hell to take back Congress in 2006.